This week I received an email from one of my clients, Chase Replogle, whose first book, The 5 Masculine Instincts: A Guide to Becoming a Better Man, released on March 1. I’ve asked his permission to share our email thread …
Finding Inspiration
What causes an author to write about a subject from a different perspective? Where does that idea come from? Knowing what inspired an author in turn can help you in finding inspiration–and cause you to listen to your own internal …
A New Literary Agent!
I’m pleased to announce that Books & Such is starting off the new year with news. We’re adding a literary agent to our team!
Debbie Alsdorf has been Wendy’s client for a number of years. Debbie has written more than …
The First Christmas
I find pondering about the folk involved in the first Christmas can give me a fresh way to think about the tale we love so much. The shepherds on the hillside are, in my opinion, worth a closer look.
They …
End Your Book Well
Last week I read an articulate article on how to end a book well. I distill the essence of the article below, but if you want to read if for yourself, it’s located here.
To End Your Book Well:
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How to Jumpstart Your Creativity
A few years ago on the PBS News Hour, I saw a report on jazz legend Herbie Hancock, who talked about an especially memorable time he performed with his mentor Miles Davis. Herbie hit a wrong note–flat out wrong. …
An Ode to Poetry
As an English lit major, poems are familiar friends to me. But some people find them strange and off-putting. Today I want to encourage you, regardless where you fall on the spectrum of appreciating poetry, to sit with a poem …
Concluding Your Book Well
Concluding your book well is a challenge. It’s one thing to start off with gusto, another thing to make it through a potentially drooping middle, and still another to finish with flair.
Missing the Mark
One example of a book …
Bookshop.org: An Online Alternative to Amazon
Bookshop.org’s founder and CEO, Andy Hunter, could be viewed as prescient. The bookstore site launched in January 2020, just before COVID forced physical stores to lock their doors. Before Amazon downgraded the priority of shipping books and upped the priority …
What Makes an Agent Say Yes?
I wrote this blog post in 2009. Because so much of it remains true today, I thought I’d retread it with updates and take it out for another spin. After all, the quest to find an agent still goes on. …